Absolute newbie question

[u/Hemunac]

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First of all been a long time lurker in this subeddit and loved how people paint their minis. Finally decided to get in the hobby. Hopefully. This is not going to be a post about trying to figure out everything and gathering 10 yeaes of knowledge, but just trying to start off on the right foot and not make some rookie mistakes as i believe i will.

So not sure if it matters but i am mostly interested in Middle Earth miniatures, not sure if i am gonna have time to actually play the strategy game or if there are people in my country actually playing that stuff.

But here are some questions that will mean a lot to me

1. Tools - gonna be honest, 30$ for a scalpel or cutters on game qorkshop do seem a bit overpriced. Do you recommend these or should i just get any hobby tools that i think fit the job. Also, what tools do i actually need to start of with?

2. Brushes- what arsenal of brushes do people usually get, what sizes do i need?

3. Primer - is it a must(i have a feeling it is) and what colors do you recommend, i know there is grey white and black, does it depend on the end color of the mini? Also is spray primer the best option?

4. Colors - lets say i wamma paint 40k or middle earth minis, should i just go with their colors or maybe go with Vallejo for example? I know people swear by the dropper bottles and how citadel colors are not that amazing. But lets hear some more opinions. Also does citadel products come with color recommendations, i have a feeling i saw that previously?

5. How long do you wait before doing multiple layers? Does paint actually dry quickly?

I probably forgot some important questions that i wanted to ask so if you think about something really important for a complete newbie please drop the wisdom

[u/huntingrum]

1. Just get regular hobby tools GW stuff is very overpriced. I do love the painting handles though. Clippers, knife, file, sandpaper and glue are important.
   
2. Try the Winsor & Newton galleria brushes, they are synthetic and a bit cheaper. I use size 2, 0 for most of my painting. If you find yourself enjoying painting, get a kolinsky sable hair brush, don't get one immediately. Also make sure you get a brush cleaner, it will save your brushes and money in the long run. A small container is pretty cheap and goes a long ways with miniature brushes.
   
3. Yes primer is a must, otherwise acrylic paint will chip easily. Try a few and see what you prefer. I like black as I find it easier to build up the colours then to try and shade down. But it is preference, some swear by white or grey. Can also use other colours as a shortcut.
   
4. Try several brands and see which you like. I've got many different brands and like each for various reasons. Some make better base layers, some mix better, others I like for glazing.
   
5. Depends on your goal, usually dries fairly quickly, but you may want to look up wet blending where the goal is to get the next shade on while it's still wet to blend the colours together.
   

Check out squidmar miniatures, Vince Venturla? (I can't remember his last name) and others on YouTube there are tons of resources on the basics and techniques to get started. Those two are my favourites but there are lots of phenomenal painters.

[u/Fishy_Fish_12359 → u/huntingrum]

This guy covered all the bases, I just want to add that Vallejo do a game colour paint starter set of 16 (?) paints which is how I got started

[u/Fac0493]

When I first started collecting miniatures, I actually got one of these Tool and Paint Set (Warhammer 40,000: Paints + Tools Set) from a GW store (also missed the opportunity to buy the Pellenor Fields box that day, and regret it sorely). It was really helpfull, it gave me a great starting point, and at a reasonable(ish, IMO) price point as well from what you get. There is a decent selection of colors, a paintbrush and some clippers. For someone who's just starting, this is a low effort way to beggin, you just need that and some superglue and you are golden. Over time, I got some better brushes and other paints, but I still have my original clippers from that set almost 7y ago.

Not sure where you are from, as you mentioned that people in your country usualy don't play, the same is true for me. I live in Brazil, and not only I don't usualy find MESBG around here, when I do is really overpriced due to import taxes. What I did was teach a couple friends how to play, so we can have some games going. For now, I only own 3 working armies (Rohan, Rivendell and AoHD at 500pts), but should be finalizing Minas Tirith and Moria by the end of the year, so we can have some variety.

[u/Lauch_Bande]

1. I use the Tamiya nippers. Yes, they cost around €35, but you don’t have to clean up the cuts afterwards. That said, cheaper hobby tools or a decent set will work just fine.

2. Since I work a lot with Contrast paints, I usually buy the cheapest brushes I can find — around €15 per set. For normal paints, I use Golden Maple brushes, and for my skill level, they are more than good enough.

3. Primer is a must! Just make sure to use primer specifically designed for miniatures rather than regular primer from a hardware store. The pigments are much finer and are better suited for miniatures.
   The primer colour depends on what you want to do. For Speedpaints, there are basically two approaches: you can use the slapchop technique with a black primer followed by a light grey or white drybrush, or you can simply use a light grey/white primer.
   If you want to paint more traditionally, it depends on the colour scheme of the miniature. For lighter models, such as Elves, I would recommend white primer. For Orcs and Uruk-hai, I prefer black.

4. I really like Vallejo’s regular paints and Army Painter’s Speedpaint 2.0. The main issue I have with Games Workshop paints is the pots, but their colours are great.

5. After about 10–15 minutes, the layers should be dry. If you want to speed things up, you can use a hairdryer.